Carlos Sainz reveals F1 calendar could grow to a record 25 grands prix

Carlos Sainz has hinted that F1 could look to expanding the race calendar to 25 grands prix per season.

F1 currently holds 24 races per year and has done since the 2024 season, although this year there will be a maximum of 23 grands prix due to the cancellation of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in April following ongoing safety concerns in the Middle East.

However, F1 will be back up to 27 grands prix for the 2027 season.

F1 otherwise has no problems filling gaps on their calendar with there being a huge demand to host races.

In the 2030s, F1 will be going back to Africa for the first time since 1993 with a race in Rwanda, indicating the sport's ambition to expand into all continents.

Over the decades F1 has expanded the calendar going from around 16 to 17 races at the start of the century, to 21 in 2016 and now the 24 today.

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Sainz: F1 say 25 races is the limit

According to Carlos Sainz, F1 may look to add even more races to the calendar, revealing the Grand Prix Drivers' Association has been told the limits to which the sport will go.

Sainz said: "I think as the GPDA, we’ve been told more or less that 24 races, 25 races is the limit of the championship that they’re willing to go for.

"I don’t know if that will be the case, the more offers there are to keep increasing venues. But I think that is the limit."

No F1 season has held 25 grands prix before and the Williams star added he thought there were pros and cons to expanding the calendar, claiming that more races for fans is a good thing, but hinted that too much of something can dilute the experience.

He said: “I think if I were a fan, I would love it because the more F1 I can watch on TV, the better.

"I remember when I was a kid and there were only 16 races in the calendar, or 18. I used to miss Formula 1 for a lot of weekends.

“But we also need to consider as a sport if that’s something that maybe is also counterproductive.

"Sometimes you need to miss the sport to get people engaged. When you get so many races in a row, people or the sport can maybe feel a bit like a league, like the Premier League rather than the Champions League.

"So maybe you pay a bit less attention to the matches or to the races in this case.

"So, it’s more a philosophy for the sport to consider whether you want to keep having so many races in a row."

Too much toll on F1 team staff?

Another concern with an expanded calendar would be the required triple headers drivers and teams would have to undertake, with Sainz admitting concern for staff on F1 teams spending less and less time at home.

"I think it’s more about the members of the team that are going to spend only three or four days at home, or five days at home every month. And it’s the people in the teams that get the tougher end rather than the drivers. I think we are in a more privileged position in that sense.

"So, let’s see. I have the motivation to do however many races we need to do. I have the will to race. I love racing. But it is true that this end of the triple header, with three triple headers in a row, is going to be tough for the body, tough for the people, tough for the mind."

F1 2027 official calendar

Here is a full look at the F1 2027 calendar, including details on dates and which grands prix are set to host sprint race action.

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Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

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